


We're Breaking All The Rules

by AbschaumNo1



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Getting Together, Hooking up, I'm probably going to hell for this but who cares, M/M, explicit mention of dicks, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-24
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-28 20:35:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16730184
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbschaumNo1/pseuds/AbschaumNo1
Summary: Brent and Jeremy have an arrangement. Then Duncs finds out





	We're Breaking All The Rules

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be fully honest, this wasn't the thing I thought would happen when the Hawks fired Q but Seabs talked about how he had played with Colliton as a kid and then I talked to Pinkmanite and all of a sudden this was happening.
> 
> The title is from Read All About It, Pt. III by Emeli Sandé

The turning point was Pittsburgh. Brent knew because that was the evening Duncs got suspicious and really it was all because of Duncs getting suspicious. As stable as things could seem, sometimes it took just one small moment for everything to topple like a house of cards.  
What happened was this: Brent was heading over to Duncs’ room to watch whatever movie or show they could agree on that evening. Jeremy was on his way to his room after a round of drinks with the rest of the coaches in the hotel bar, and he happened to wall down the hallway the same moment as Brent did. They smiled at each other and Brent said hi, and was about to walk past when Jeremy stopped him with a soft touch to his elbow.  
“We still on for dinner the day after tomorrow?” Jeremy asked softly.  
“Sure,” Brent said, just as low, giving him a warm smile.  
“Good.” Jeremy smiled back and that was that. They both headed their own ways.  
Brent wasn't even sure why Duncs had opened the door and seen it, and if he was honest the why didn't really matter at all. What mattered was that Duncs had seen them.  
“What the hell are you thinking?” He hissed as soon as the door closed behind Brent.  
Brent blinked in confusion. “What?” He asked.  
“Whatever that was with Colliton out there. What the hell are you thinking?”  
“I'm not sure what you mean.”  
“Yeah sure.”  
“Really I don't know what you think you saw, but it was nothing.”  
He could see that Duncs didn't believe him, but he didn't press Brent for anything more, so hopefully this was all he’d hear of it.  
Duncs couldn't know.

But really maybe it was better to start at the beginning.

No one had expected the coaching change when it happened. And that included the coaches. The first thing Brent heard about it was the press release and the following confused texts from the rest of the guys.  
But at the end of the day they were professionals and coaching changes happened, whether they liked it or not.  
Brent mentioned in the media scrum that he had known Jeremy since they were kids, that they had played with and against each other a couple of times, and he thought that was it.  
And well, of course they reconnected because of that; it would have been weird not to. They cracked a couple of jokes about how neither of them would have expected any of this, and Brent offered to show Jeremy around Chicago if he wanted to or just to tell him where to get some decent food in relative privacy. And that was that. It could have been weird to be coached by a guy his own age, but really hockey was hockey and at the end of the day they all just wanted to win.

Brent couldn't tell why he went to Jeremy's office after they won against the Blues. Maybe it was a hunch, or maybe it was just a dumb idea. Either way he went, and he found Jeremy sitting there, turning the puck Jonny had given him earlier in the locker room in his hands.  
“Hey,” Brent said, and Jeremy looked up.  
“Hey,” he said.  
“Congrats on your first win.”  
Jeremy gave him a smile. “Couldn't have done it without you and the guys.”  
Brent went over to him, shrugging as he said, “I told you we'd get there.”  
“Yeah.” Jeremy was still smiling, but as Brent came closer he realised how much tension there was in his shoulders.  
He didn't know what made him do it, but he reached out and dug a thumb into the tense muscle. “Geez, I know it was a tight game bit you can loosen up you know?” He said with a low chuckle.  
Whatever Jeremy was about to reply was cut off when Brent readjusted his grip and dug in properly, and a low moan escaped Jeremy's lips.  
Brent chuckled again. “Maybe you should see someone about that.”  
“Maybe,” Jeremy said before silence fell between them.  
Brent kept up the movement of his thumb. He was about to add his other hand so he could get to the other shoulder as well when Jeremy twisted a little and yanked him down by his shirt and the next thing Brent knew was that there was a hand at the back of his neck and they were kissing.  
The angle was awkward and it was sloppy and wet and by no means the best kiss of Brent's life, but Brent had to admit that he liked it.  
“I shouldn't have,” Jeremy said almost as soon as they parted. “I'm sorry.”  
“Don't be.” Brent cleared his throat. “It's fine.”  
He shifted a little to the side and took Jeremy’s face in both of his hands before he bent down to mash their lips back together.  
Jeremy leaned back and pulled Brent with him and it made all the difference. The kiss was hungry and still just this side of sloppy, and Brent didn't think he wanted to come up for air.  
They were both panting a little when they broke it, and when Brent's hand dropped down to Jeremy's hip, Jeremy shifted a little in his seat and oh.  
Brent ran his thumb over Jeremy's crotch and felt him twitch.  
“You want me to take care of that?” He asked.  
“We shouldn't…” Jeremy said.  
“You're right.” Brent shrugged. “But that doesn't mean we can't.”  
Jeremy laughed a little breathlessly. “I'm still your coach though.”  
“That you are. Not that it means anything to me right now.” Brent looked at him steadily. “I'm not offering my coach to blow him, I'm offering you.”  
He watched Jeremy swallow and take a deep breath before he said, “Yeah, okay.”  
Brent grinned and leaned in for another biting kiss, while he worked open Jeremy's belt and pants and tugged them down just enough to free his cock.  
“Try not to be too loud,” he said, never breaking eye contact as he knelt down and took Jeremy's cock in his mouth.

After, once Brent had made sure he hadn't spilled anything, and Jeremy had found his bearings again, Jeremy gave him a long look.  
“Need me to take care of you now?” He asked.  
Brent shook his head with a smile. “I'll deal. Besides, there's no time, better not to risk anyone walking in.” He got up. “Do I look presentable?”  
“I don't think anyone will suspect anything.”  
“Good then.” Brent grinned. “I better get going.”  
Jeremy laughed. “I'll see you tomorrow?”  
“I'll have to think about it. Might take a day off.” Brent winked and then he left not a minute too late, because he passed Barry on his way out.

It could have stopped there. It should have stopped there. They were coach and player, they had to work together. They were in no position to start anything with each other that went past casual friendship.  
But they didn't stop.

There was a lot of sneaking around involved, quick handjobs and blowjobs in empty rooms and supply closets. They had it down to a T.  
They never talked about it either. It was just something they did.  
And Brent didn't know about Jeremy, but if he jerked himself off to thoughts of Jeremy and their encounters when he was at home that was only for him to know.

Then there was the dream. Jerking it to memories of them together was one thing, but the dream was a problem. Because the dream meant it was becoming more than casual sex for Brent and that wasn't supposed to happen.  
It always started the same way. They were on Brent's couch, wrapped up in each other, Jeremy wearing what Brent was fairly sure was a pair of his own sweats pants and one of his t-shirts. They talked, they kissed, they made out, the dream jumped to them being in Brent's bed room, Jeremy naked in Brent's bed, Brent looking down on him. And that was usually when he woke up, rock hard in his briefs, and had to get a hand on his dick while he thought about everything he would do to Jeremy if he actually got him into his bed and got to take his time with him. The first time it happened Brent came so hard he was seeing stars, and he knew he was fucked.

Still he kept things as professional as they were between them. It should have been the point where they at least talked about this thing, or where Brent stopped it for his own good. But Brent never claimed to be all responsible, and so it went on.

Which was where Duncs came in.

The dinner plans weren't even that damning. They had dinner occasionally, never more, just the two of them eating together and talking. Everyone knew they had history, and they didn't keep it secret. No one even batted an eyelid at them having dinner together.  
And as far as Brent knew Duncs hadn't overheard that anyways. So the problem was everything else about their encounter in the hallway. How close they had stood together, the fact that Jeremy's hand hadn't left Brent's arm as they talked, most likely the way Brent had looked at him. And the fact that Duncs knew Brent so well he could practically read his mind.  
And Duncs being suspicious meant Duncs was watching now. He didn't say anything about it, but the mind reading went both ways and Brent knew Duncs wasn't approving of what he saw.

He confronted Brent after training a week or two after the game in Pittsburgh. They were at Brent's place together for lunch, but they had barely even closed the front door behind them when Duncs rounded on him with a glare and said, “What the fuck are you doing with Colliton?”  
And hell, Brent couldn't even remember the last time he had seen Duncs this pissed off at him. But he didn't waver under his glare and said, “I don't know what you mean.”  
“You know exactly what I mean. He's our fucking coach, and I don't know what you're thinking, but you need to fucking stop.”  
“Whatever you think man, there's nothing there.”  
“Is that why you've been sneaking around? I saw you guys in Pittsburgh, don't tell me that’s the way you look talking to a friend, never mind your fucking coach. I'm not fucking blind.”  
“Jesus Duncs, he was just asking if we were still on for dinner, it's not like it's a secret we do that.”  
“Yeah, right, dinner.”  
“Yes, dinner.”  
Duncs sighed. “Look Seabs, you're old enough to know what you're doing and you fucking need to stop. Fucking your coach is a terrible idea, so if you don't stop and this all goes South, don't say I didn't warn ya.”  
Brent clenched his teeth, but then he took a deep breath and said, “Noted.”  
Duncs nodded. “So are we having lunch or what?”  
“Jesus. Way to give a guy whiplash.” Brent rolled his eyes, but he lead the way towards the kitchen. Lunch had been the plan after all.

“Is everything okay with Duncs?” Jeremy asked over dinner a couple of days later.  
“As far as I know yes. Why?” Brent pulled his eyebrows together as he tried to remember if Duncs had acted any differently than usual, but he came up blank.  
“I don't know. He seemed kinda angry the past few days. I thought you might know what's up.”  
“Ah that.” Brent sighed. “He's pissed off at me ever since he figured out about us.”  
Jeremy stilled. “He's figured out?”  
“Yeah. But it's not like he's gonna do anything apart from being angry with me and disapproving silently,” Brent said with a shrug. He trusted Duncs not to be dumb about this.  
“Oh,” Jeremy said. “Okay.” But he was distracted for the rest of the evening, and by the time Brent went to bed (alone as usual), he couldn't fight the sinking feeling in his stomach anymore. Maybe Duncs would get his wish sooner than he thought.

As it turned out Brent had been right with his feeling. It took a couple days, but when they were filing out of the room after a video review session, Jeremy called after him.  
“Can I talk to you for a second?” He asked and Brent nodded, doing his best to ignore the dread he was feeling.  
Duncs scowled a little as he walked past, but Brent rolled his eyes at him and said, “I'll be right with you.”  
As soon as they were in his office Jeremy sat down heavily on one of the couches And sighed. Brent sat down across from him, a little wary of what was to come. He wanted to reach out, ease the tension in Jeremy’s shoulders, but that wasn't what they were. And he had a hunch that it would be even less his place once they were done here.  
Finally, Jeremy looked at him and said, “I think we should stop.”  
Brent nodded and swallowed down all of the million things he stupidly wanted to say.  
“It's...It was good while it lasted. But...the risk is too high. Duncs has already figured it out, I don't want to risk either of our positions if anyone else does. Or if he tells anyone.”  
“He won't,” Brent said, more out of reflex than actual protest. “He may not like it, but he's not like that.”  
Jeremy sighed again. “Maybe he won't. I'll trust you on that, I guess. But that doesn't change the fact that someone else could still figure it out and they might not be as trustworthy.”  
Brent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had to keep it together. This was definitely not the time to spill his feelings.  
“Okay,” he said. “You're right. We probably shouldn't have started in the first place.”  
“Good. I...thanks for understanding.”  
Brent nodded and got up to leave.  
“Seabs?” Jeremy asked just when he had reached the door. “We're still friends though, right?”  
Brent turned around to face him again.  
“Yeah,” he said with a nod. “Of course we are.”  
He carried Jeremy's relieved smile with him out of the room. Somehow he thought neither of them was happy with the decision.

Seabs seemed unhappy when he returned from his talk with Colliton. Duncan wasn't sure if anyone else saw, but to him it was obvious from the set of his shoulders and the look in his eyes. Whatever they had talked about it hadn't been good news for Seabs.  
Duncan quickly checked if anyone was paying attention to them before he gently knocked their shoulders together.  
“Everything okay?” He asked softly.  
There was anger in Seabs' eyes when he looked at Duncan and replied, “Everything's peachy.”  
He turned away from Duncan, who decided that it was better not to press the issue. Besides, he was fairly sure he knew what they had talked about. It was probably better to let Seabs lick his wounds first and come to terms with it.  
Duncan quickly realised that Seabs wasn't getting over it. He didn't talk to Duncan about anything more than he had to. As well as he usually knew him, Duncan had no idea what Seabs was thinking off the ice these days. It felt weird. They had been best friends for so long that Duncan barely even remembered what life had been like before they knew each other.  
With no other choice left, Duncan had to settle in and watch. He watched Seabs, who was lucky that no one else had fully caught on yet, because the way he looked at Colliton when he thought no one was watching wasn't exactly subtle.  
He kept an eye on the team, mostly so he could intervene before anyone realised anything they shouldn't. No one had gotten quite that far yet, but it was better to be cautious.  
And last but not least he watched Colliton. That one was probably the most interesting part. At the first look, Colliton seemed to take things well. He didn't seem any different than before, but Duncan was willing to be patient. He didn't have to wait too long for the cracks to appear. Because when no one was looking, Colliton watched Seabs. And he was good at not being obvious about it, but not good enough for Duncan, who knew the look from Seabs’ face. It was not what Duncan had expected, except maybe he should have, because obviously things had to be more complicated than they needed to. And it figured that Duncan was the one who had to figure it out.

What he hadn't realised over watching Seabs and Colliton was that Jonny had been watching Seabs and him. It shouldn’t have surprised him, Jonny had always taken his position as Captain seriously, and something like Seabs not talking to him was bound to catch his attention.  
“Everything okay with you and Seabs?” He asked during practice one day.  
“Yeah, why?”  
“I don't know, it just seems like you're not talking as much.”  
“It's nothing. Just a difference in opinion.” Duncan shrugged. “I'm working on it though. He'll get around eventually.”  
Jonny smiled wryly. “So I won’t have to lock you two in a room together so you can sort it out away from the kids?”  
Duncan laughed. “It's gonna be fine. No worries.”  
“Cool then. Good luck sorting it out.” Jonny knocked their shoulders together and skated back over to Kaner to bother him instead.  
Which only left the problem of Seabs’ love life for Duncan to solve.

Jeremy wasn't above admitting that ending things with Brent had been hard. He was fairly sure that he sold it pretty well, but the cold, harsh truth was that he had wanted to take the words back as soon as they had been out. He couldn’t though. And not just because Seabs had agreed with him, but because it had been the right decision. Maybe they could have made it work; maybe Jeremy had over-reacted when Brent had told him that Duncs had figured out that they were fucking. But none of that changed the fact that the risk had been too high. It still sucked.  
Jeremy tried to get on with his life. He had a hockey team to coach, had to prove that they had been right to hire him. Maybe Brent’s presence made it harder some days, but he just had to deal.  
What he didn't expect was Duncs walking into his office after practice. He was already dressed in street clothes again, which probably meant that the rest of the team was gone.  
He gave Jeremy a long look and said, “We need to talk.”  
“Okay.” Jeremy leaned back and gestured to the empty couch, the same couch where Brent had sat when Jeremy had told him that they had to stop having sex. But Jeremy didn't allow himself to think about that, even as he watched Duncs sit down.  
“So what's going on?” He asked.  
“You and Seabs.”  
“What about me and Seabs?”  
“You fucked. And then you broke it off, didn't you?”  
Jeremy considered denying it, but there was no point; not after Duncs had been the reason why he had ended it.  
“Are you here to tell me off?” He asked instead.  
Duncs considered him for a moment. “Not the first part, no.” Jeremy raised an eyebrow and Duncs rolled his eyes. “I assume he told you I was angry with him when I realised. And I was. But I don't think you made the right choice when you ended it.”  
“And you say this because?”  
“Well there's the fact that Seabs is angry with me because of it. Which is his problem not yours by the way. And then there's how you both don't seem happy with it. And you’re lucky no one has figured it out already.”  
“But you have.”  
Duncs shrugged. “I've been Seabs’ best friend for long enough to know when he's not happy. And the two of you wear the same look on your faces when you think no one's looking.”  
“Have we really been so obvious?”  
“No worries,” Duncs said with a smile. “I'm the only one who noticed. And I only did because I was looking for it. You're both pretty damn good at keeping it contained.” He gave Jeremy a serious look. “And that's the whole point. I only figured you out because I know Seabs better than anyone and I witnessed one interaction that everyone else would have dismissed. Just because I found out doesn't mean anyone else will. Not if you don’t start being idiots.”  
“So what are you trying to say?”  
“What I'm trying to say is that you should think about whether you made the right choice. Seabs is like a brother to me, and maybe I think it's a stupid idea, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to make it work. Some things are worth the risk.”  
Jeremy was silent for a moment. “Do you think he'll listen?”  
“He will. It's what he wants, even if it's killing him right now.” Duncs got up. “Just think about it.”  
Jeremy nodded, and before Duncs could leave the room he said, “Thanks Duncs.”  
Duncs gave him a nod, his hand on the doorknob already. “You're welcome.”  
The door fell shut behind him and Jeremy was left to his own thoughts.

He drove over to Brent's place the next evening, mulling over what to say. There was no script here, nothing that could tell him how to convince Brent that he had made a mistake and that he wanted to try again; properly this time. Nothing but to say sorry and mean it.  
Brent looked surprised when he opened the door, but he let Jeremy in when he said, “Can we talk?”  
He led Jeremy to the living room, and the first thing he said once they were both sitting down was, “What are you doing here?” He didn't sound angry, more wary and a little tired.  
Jeremy swallowed. “So Duncs came to talk to me,” he said, and this time Brent looked taken aback. “And he told me to think about what I said to you.”  
“He did?”  
“Yeah. He figured out I ended things between us and apparently he thinks it was a stupid decision.”  
“So what do you think?”  
“I think he's right.”  
Brent’s jaw tensed, and he sounded a little angry when he said, “Then why did you do it?”  
Jeremy took a deep breath. “I panicked. Not just because he found out. That was part of it, yes. But more important was that I was afraid of what you would figure out and how you'd react.”  
“Me? I was fine with what we had. Why should I have had a problem with it?”  
“And that was just the problem.”  
Brent scowled in confusion. “That doesn't make sense.”  
“It did to me. Because I thought what we had was all you wanted. And I had figured out that it wasn't all I wanted.” Jeremy took a deep breath. “Because I realised that I had developed feelings for you and I was afraid you'd end it when you found out.”  
Brent looked at him for a long moment before he let out a disbelieving laugh. “Of all the things I expected you to say that wasn't it,” he said.  
Jeremy had to smile. “To he fair, I didn't expect to say it until yesterday either. And I know I have a lot to make up for, but will you let me try? Because Duncs convinced me that I should and I really want to.”  
Brent was silent for a moment, but then he said, “I want you to try, too.” He took a deep breath. “I said I was fine with what we had but I wasn't. I wanted more, but I thought what I had was all I'd get. When you told me we should stop, I wanted nothing more but to tell you, but I thought you didn't want me that way so I didn't. And I've tried to get over it ever since but...it was hard.”  
“I'm sorry.”  
“I'm not going to say it's okay, because it wasn't. Not really, but I think I get it.”  
They had been sitting on opposite ends of the sectional, but now Brent moved over to sit next to Jeremy.  
“What can I do to make it up to you?”  
Brent laughed “Well you could start with a kiss. And then maybe you could spend the night, if you want to.”  
“I would like that very much.”  
Brent nodded, a soft smile on his face. “Okay then. Now where is that kiss?”  
Jeremy laughed. “As you wish,” he said, and leaned in to kiss Brent. Who was he to say no to that?

 


End file.
